Lash
Lash is a vicious Vortixx mercenary and assassin who has allied herself with the Piraka. Biography Pre-game history: Lash worked as a contract killer, mercenary and bodyguard in exchange for money back on her homeland. While murdering a group of important village elders on one of these contracts, something went wrong, and Lash was forced to flee her homeland. Thankfully, she had planned for such an eventuality, and set sail to find a new land to establish herself on, ultimately arriving in Ko-Koro, where she stole a satchel full of Stralix Powder charges, and learnt of rumours about organised criminal activity in the bowels of the Darkwalk. The Darkwalk: Venturing into the tunnels, Lash found one of the unique blood red lightstones that exist down there, and used that to illuminate her way down into the tunnel. She was soon attacked by a Rahkshi of heat vision, which she fought off with her razor-lined whips, managing to remove one of the creature's arms before retreating. She then encountered Aurum, who helped her fight off the son of Makuta, ultimately delivering the killing blow with his lance. As they walked deeper into the tunnels, Aurum told her some of the history of the island, until they were abruptly halted by the Piraka Hakann, who demanded to know their intentions. Thye explained that they were both mercenaries looking for employment with the Piraka, and Hakann, telling them that he only required one mercenary, then forced them to fight. The fight was a short-lived one, as Lash was not used to fighting in confined spaces, or directly engaging an opponent. In an attempt to even the odds and take Aurum by surprise, she set off one of her Stralix charges, incidentally thwarting an ambush attack directed at them in the process. The fiery bright blast revealed two newcomers in the tunnels, Kavala and Lonefeld, who were also seeking to join the Piraka. Hakann instructed all of them to kneel before him, which everyone eventually did, albeit reluctantly. While the other three were more interested in acquiring technology from Hakann, Lash found herself intrigued by the idea of antidermis, and appealed to Hakann to take her to the Vault, where he negotiated with Zaktan to get herself a vial of antidermis. Breathless: Zaktan's price for the antidermis was for her to help in the upcoming attack on Onu-Koro, so she set off out into the tunnels once more, headed in that direction, taking a detour along the way to hunt for a Rahkshi to enslave with her antidermis. Finding herself in some kind of den, she encountered and fought a Rahkshi of Vacuum, eventually managing to successfully trap it with her antidermis but sustaining a minor shoulder wound in the process. She took shelter in a side tunnel to tend her wounds and attempt to train her new pet, which she named Breathless, a few tricks. She commanded him to "play dead" which consisted of Breathless' Kraata slithering out of the suit, causing the creature to shut down and become, for all intents and purposes, dead. Arrival in Onu-Koro: Lash put the empty Rahkshi into a cart and wheeled it into the city. Although she was hampered by the Ussalry guards at the gates, Sajis and Reson, she managed to get her Rahkshi into the city with her only loss being the Stralix Powder she'd stolen back in Ko-Koro. While the guards were busy searching the cart, she instructed the Kraata to slip silently into the city. She later found a derelict inn, the Ussal Crab, and bribed the Matoran innkeeper to skip town for a few weeks, leaving the place in her hands. She changed the name to the Ussal Crap, as a tribute to the disgusting condition of the place, and left Breathless' armour in the main room, hiding the Kraata upstairs until the attack began and it was time for him to be reactivated. She also carved a small Rahkshi sign into the side of the doorframe, which she hoped other Makuta worshipers and Piraka friends would recognise, so that they knew the inn was a place they could rally. Soon after, Skoll arrived, and Lash attempted to convince him to join the Piraka's cause. Shadow Kidnapper: After hearing that a matoran had been kidnapped by an unknown assailant wielding the power of shadow, Lash became curious, and joined up with the Ussalry guards Sajis and Reson to seek them out. Entering a bar with Sajis, she spotted Kavala, whom she recognised from her time in the Darkwalk. Suspecting that he was responsible for the disappearance, she decided to bide her time until she could speak with him. After a brief discussion, Kavala was spotted by Vesun, Reson and the matoran he had kidnapped earlier, who had escaped the cave he'd been trapped in. Realising Kavala might betray her allegiances, Lash was forced to knock him out before he could say anything. Change of Plans: Later, Reson confronted her in the inn she was staying at, accusing her of already knowing who Kavala was, and threatening to turn her over to the Ussalry. In response, Lash summoned Breathless, who knocked Reson out, before she tied the unfortunate Toa up in the inn's cellar, intending to use him for leverage later. When she left, she discovered Reson's Ussal Crab Curmudgeon waiting for her outside. Angered, she chased the crab back to the Ussalry headquarters, where she confronted Onepu, the first person in authority she happened to encounter. She made up a story about Reson getting drunk and dumping the crab with her, in the hopes of stopping the Ussalry for looking for Reson, before it occurred to her that Curmudgeon might actually be smart enough to lead the Ussalry back to the captured Toa. Cover Blown: Onepu spotted her running back to the inn, and gathered a team of Ussalry guards to surround the building before sending the NPC Kaj to confront her. When her Kraata was discovered, Kaj panicked, and Sajis and Onepu came running. Lash put herself between the pair and Breathless, convincing them that she was attempting to reverse-engineer the Rahkshi and that she meant no one any harm. Onepu seemed to buy her story, and despite Sajis protests, gave Lash an ultimatum: go with the Ussalry and continue her "experiments" under careful guard, destroy the Kraata, or leave the city. Taking a gamble, Lash decided to go with the first option. Lash and Skoll arrived at the Ussalry headquarters, where Onepu went and negotiated with Nuparu. Upon his return, he informed the pair that they would be allowed to continue their Rahkshi work in another part of the Koro, under careful guard. The skakdi Onoraza later contacted Lash via a note asking her to meet in a nearby alleyway. Since Lash was unable to leave the building, had no idea what the message was for anyway, Reson took the note and went to investigate. When he didn't return, Lash began to get worried, knowing if anything happened to the guardman it would likely get blamed on her. Lawless: Later on, the Matoran businessman Niralle and his lawyer Eretas arrived at the workshop demanding to see Lash. Uncertain of the legalities of the situation, the guards let Eretas pass. The lawyer then questioned Lash, building up a case that she had been unfairly imprisoned for a crime that hadn't been been committed yet. After he was done, he demanded that the guards set Lash and Breathless go free. Appearance and Tools: Grey-skinned and clad in olive-green armour, Lash has soul-chilling red eyes, and speaks with an enthralling exotic accent. Although about average height for a Vortixx, she often walks with a hunch, so that her foes underestimate her. Her weapons are a pair of whips lined with triangular protosteel spikes, serrated to resembled the teeth of a Takea Shark, and deisnged to rip and tear through armour with flesh with ease, as exemplified when she dis''arm''ed the Heat vision Rahkshi she first fought. she also carries a pair of knives that she made out of the dead Heat Vision Rahkshi's staff. ''Breathless ''is orange and black, while his Kraata is a bright green/yellow in colour. He wields a Rahkshi staff of Vacuum, which serves as a means to channel and amplify his powers. Abilities and Traits: Lash has no inherent powers or technology, simply relying on her own viciousness and skills in battle. She relies heavily on thoughtful planning and ambush tactics, but is incapable of understanding what motivates other, making it difficult for her to predict their actions. Breathless, being a Rahkshi, has no personality of his own, but is blindly obedient to the being that enslaved him, namely Lash. He has the power to draw all of the air out of an area, and release it in a powerful burst. Relationships: Allies: * Breathless. * Aurum * Zaktan * Hakann * Skoll * Niralle * Eretas Enemies: * Reson Ance * Draygon * Minnorak Quotes: "As a Vortixx, I have no use for masks, and I've seen enough fancy technology to last me a lifetime, but this Antidermis is something I've never heard of before. I'm curious to see what it can do. If, when you return to the vault, you would show me the way in, so that I may see this antidermis for myself and negotiate with whoever may be willing to give it me, I would be most... grateful." - Lash to Hakann. "What if I don't want to attack Onu-Koro with the rest of your cronies?" - Lash, to Zaktan. Trivia: * One of the guards Lash encountered, Reson, was coincidentally also controlled by the same player. * The scene where Lash receives her antidermis from Zaktan was RPed by Zaktan's player, as Lash's player was out of the country at the time and had arranged the interaction in advance. Category:Vortixx Category:Mercenaries Category:Characters